Children of War: Redemption
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter Children of War: Redemption The Field Trip It was one of those rare days that Glynda Goodwitch had been assigned the task of escorting her class to an off-campus location. Here it'd be on behalf on Professor Peach's class that they'd explore the beautiful Forever Fall forest, a woodland of eternally crimson colored trees for kilometers beyond the eye can see. With the assignment of gathering the trees' special sap as part of the experiment, they'd take it back to the professor to pass and continue their studies of environment and geography. Everyone was told to stay close and beware that Grimm were to be expected lurking about, even in this beautiful scenery. All took the hint and stayed relatively close to Glynda as she guided them forward...well almost everyone. Jaune Arc and CRDL were discreet in vacating the proximity of the Huntress' watchful gaze and the rest of the exploring teams. While students had a semblance of antics and enjoyment in the clean, warm wilderness it was Ruby's turn to feel wary. Pyrrha sported a smile as she got lost in the color coated backdrop, forgetting her own problems just as Ren and Nora were. However, Ruby couldn't help but worry about the blonde dork of a Team Leader she spoke with not that long ago. Strangely enough, she was sidled up near MKBD's Kiarra and ARES' Seth as they had wandered a little than expected from their respective groups. Gathered around a particular tree to gather the same substance, Ruby whispered to both of them, assuming they were on the same page about the topic matter; at least, she hoped it was and she wasn't simply blabbing about things she shouldn't. "Are you guys worried about Jaune?" She asked with a sad-eyed stare. "I mean...it's been a week but...he still hasn't come back to his team yet. You think everything is going to go back to the way it was?" Kiarra raised an eyebrow at her, briefly glancing away from the tree she was inspecting. "Jaune Arc..." She pronounced the name slowly, as if she was trying out a completely new word. "Isn't that the team leader of team Juniper? Just what's exactly going on with him? I keep hearing the little things, but--" "Long story short," Seth cut her off, earning her attention. "Jaune got himself into a lot of shit and now he's being butt-pounded by Cardin Winchester. Don't ask me to clarify, because most of it's an in-between thing." Kiarra cocked an eyebrow, looking appalled and amused. "...wow." She commented, straightening herself up and placing a hand on her hip. "That was really vulgar.... and surprisingly well-worded." "Thank you." Seth only smirked for a brief moment before turning his gaze to Ruby. He closed one eye and shifted his smirk into a simple smile as he sauntered over. An arm slipped around the girl's shoulders, and he poked a free hand's finger into one of her shoulders. "But, Red... c'mon. You can't be going around looking like that. Jaune's gonna be just fine. You heard what Anthony and Elisha were saying. We've gotta have faith." He retracted his free hand to place on his hip. "So put on a smile, huh? You look cuter when you're cheery." The young girl's countenance immediately brightened when Seth gave her a pep talk. Despite everything going on, she loved the beautiful colors surrounding her and the idea of doing a casual stroll through such a scene was still enjoyable. Grinning at being called 'cute' when she's cheery, she couldn't help but beam brightly and reply to the usually vulgar boy of ARES. "Really? Thanks, Seth! I like it when you're nice like this; it makes me smile knowing I have a friend who can cheer me up." Turning back to Kiarra to share her grin with her as well, she raised up her tool and began to cut a groove into the tree. Immediately thick juicy sap began to excrete causing her to open her mouth with awe and then giggle as it overflowed into the jar she had. "It smells so sweet! I wonder if it'd be a good perfume?" "NORA! Don't eat the sap!" Pyrrha chastised with bulging eyes, the orange haired girl guffawing wildly as she tossed Pyrrha and her empty jars behind her. "Nev-Ah!" She spoke defiantly as she began to duck and weave away from the enraged red-haired girl. "...bringing Nora was a mistake," Ren mumbled as he began to pick up the jars and refill the jars himself. "She always causes trouble; that I clean up in the end." "Hey, Oiled-Up," Yang distantly to Anthony, yet again calling him with another nickname. Reaching up she snickerd as she yanked a branch off. Using one of her hands to imitate glasses she began to take exaggerated steps while puffing her cheeks out. "Stop right there, everyone. I have to make sure I kill the mood by making it very stingy around here!" Blake, not too far away, couldn't help but cover her face as she snickered at Yang's mock imitation. While she turned to see Glynda not far away arching a brow while tapping her wand at her side, the bow-haired girl gawked and then clucked her tongue at Yang nodding her head past at the teacher. Before she could see it, the stick flew out of her hand and was suddenly reattached to the tree. Both girls looked apologetically, even though the prior had nothing to do with it, as the teacher just rolled her eyes and kept watching the various other teams gather sap. Her vigilant eyes did nothing to deter Anthony. After grinning cheekily at the imitation of Glynda, he decided to follow up. He used both hands to imitate glasses, straightened himself up and spoke in a more deadpan tone of voice - a clear mocking of Ozpin. "Ah, there's nothing I love more than the sight of Beacon hopefuls flying through the air hundreds of feet to their deaths. Except maybe coffee. By Dust, words cannot explain my love for coffee. I could go for some right now." Elisha, who was working with Rohan, took notice. He couldn't help but give a small chuckle, even as he turned back to stab their target tree with his sword. "All this talk from Seth about how he's going to snag at least five," He commented, stepping back to let Rohan place the jar appropriately. "And Anthony's already grabbed one. When the cowboy sees, I can only guess how annoyed he's going to be." "You people are very odd." Rohan muttered. Meanwhile, on the three remaining members of MKBD, a discussion was taking place. "All we have to do is make a precise hole in the trunk and let the sap flow into the jar, just like the other teams are doing. I've got the proper weapons for it, so just ready the jars and--" "Pffft. We don't need no hole. I've got this thing!" "Delilah, wait a minute. That's a bit overboard, let's not--" "Outta the way, Bonnie, I'm gonna go lumberjack on this bitch!" "DELLIE, NO--!" But it was too late. Delilah's own weapon, which had shifted into an oversized butcher axe, sliced through the tree trunk as if it was made of butter. There was a moment's pause - a pause in which Mose and Bonnie took to regard Delilah with shock - before the tree started to fall. Delilah smiled confidently, resting the ax on her shoulder and admiring her handiwork. "See? Nothing to it--" Then, the tree fell into another tree. That tree was ripped out from its roots, crashing into another tree. That tree crashed into another, and so forth, and so forth. In a handful of seconds, a large amount of trees had fallen courtesy of a domino effect. The confidence in Delilah's face faded to complete shock and then sheepishness as her teammates glared at her. She laughed nervously, scratching her cheek with her free hand. "On second thought," She relented, slowly averting her gaze away from them and a potentially shocked audience. "Maybe putting holes in the trees is a much better idea." "Why are you my teammate?" Mose growled. "Just.... why?" Enter the Reckoning Jaune had been pushed to the brink. Despite his agreement with Seth Browning almost a week ago it was easier said than done. His apprehension could be fooled as patience, waiting for the right opportunity. But in reality he was just putting an issue off he could have corrected the day he was given that challenge. The insufferable man had a point, he was just being jerked around without pushing back. But his memory of the severe beating he had in the sparring arena was still cemented in his mind. Being a punching bag didn't exactly sound appealing. Plus, what Cardin asked him to do wasn't even that hard from an observer point of view. Mundane tasks ranging from picking up trash, doing easy assignments and helping him finish miscellaneous paperwork never seemed to be beyond his own ability to accomplish. In order to keep his team class scores from falling he had also discreetly done his own homework on the side. While it was painfully average at best, he still considered it an achievement given the schooling was considerably difficult compared to his own hometown schooling system. Add that along with Hunter qualifications of weapon specifications, maintenance and shooting ranges made it a one-of-a-kind type of academy he had never been in. "Seth's right, Ozpin seems too smart to fall for a lame qualification sheet I mailed to them over a month ago," Jaune realized as he set out to collect over a dozen jars of sap. With discretion he kept out of Glynda's watchful eye, knowing among the near one hundred students involved with this hour's class would definitely make it difficult for anyone to notice him. Still lost in thought he was finishing what seemed to be the second to last jar Cardin wanted to fill. "The Emerald Forest must have been the real entrance exam. If you didn't make the cut, you'd die. Seems more legitimate than any cheat sheet you can slip to him." With a bundle of the jars in his arms his brows were knitted into a frown as he trudged back over a hill. Realizing that none of them had gathered any jars of their own, instead chilling on the crimson shaded grass he could only twitch. So when he collapsed he wondered what exactly led Ozpin to believe he was leadership material? As he contemplated with huffs of breaths in and out, Cardin came by him giving him a rough slap on the back. "Great work, buddy," He sarcastically drawled out, pointing him to follow behind. "Come on, I got one more assingment left for ya." Sighing, he pushed himself up, and followed, wary of the other members of Cardin's team walking behind him. Drawing close to a field with a rising hill, he dropped to his hands and knees. Following behind him he slowly peered up where the red-haired man did. When he looked he saw that Glynda was nowhere insight, but members of his own team intermingling with the others was seen. More importantly, he saw Pyrrha, whose smile was still attractive from the distance that he witnessed her face. "S-So," He cleared his voice, turning to look at an intensely glaring Cardin, seeming fixated exactly where his eyes once were. "What are we doing?" "Payback." "What?" Jaune asked, his voice becoming a hoarse whisper as a foreboding understanding was spreading to his body. "Pyrrha Nikos," The well-built student spoke with a snarl, his fist cracking against the earth with a thud. "Look at her? She thinks she's so Ace material, and how she haughtily answers all those questions in class. Teacher's pets don't have anything on her. That bitch is going to get what's coming to her today." "...how do you plan to do that?" The blonde asked with trepidation, feeling a cold feeling growing within the pit of his gut. "Funny you should ask, buddy," He raucously laughed, turning to grasp his shoulder. Nodding to one of his lackeys, a wooden box rattled next to him, soon filled with a cacophony of buzzes. Grinning he looked at the box with demented glee. "Thanks to you helping gather these wasps, we can use them on that red-haired know-it-all. From the report you helped write for me, I found out these nasty bugs really like the sap that comes from the trees here. Now, you only need to do one thing." One of the thugs handed him a jar, the other standing him upright just as Cardin handed the box to one of his other minions. With Jaune's face paling the bully delightfully pointed over the hill right at the unbeknownst Pyrrha. "I want you to throw that jar at her. We got plenty so if you miss the first time I'm sure she won't notice a few more chucked at her. Once she gets a bit of that sap on her, we can let loose these nasty critters and see how high and mighty she is after-" "No." Cardin laughed for a few seconds until he realized Jaune's expression had changed one from of absolute fear and powerlessness to one of anger. It was an emotion he hadn't seen on the boy's face. At first he thought it was a joke, but then he felt something crash against his breastplate. The pristine plating had sap splattered over its wings, smearing down the grey of the metal as the glass sent the rest to slop over his boots. Snarling he looked up at a defiant Jaune, "Do you...have any idea what you just done, you idiot?!" "I'm not your tool, Cardin!" Jaune snarled aloud, even while his arms were suddenly wrapped by two of the team. Even as he was pulled back, struggling all the while he continued to spit at him with a fire in his eyes. "You threaten me, that's fine! You push me around, that's okay too, I can live with that! But the moment you put me in the position that harms anyone on MY team, you can just kiss any deal we had goodbye!" The burly young man was too mad at having his armor stained and being talked back. His fist was already cocked back, crashing over the brow of Jaune's eye before he was flying from the pair that held him. Practically gnashing his teeth he strode forward cracking his knuckles as he readied to beat on the smaller boy's body, "You're going to regret talking down to me, you little shit! Prepare for a world of hurt!" "Uh...Cardin-" "What?!" Cardin yelled out, suddenly feeling a cold chill run down his spine. Turning over he noticed what looked like an enormous Ursa, more giant than any he saw in the Emerald Forest. With bone plating jutting out from its shoulders with spikes running from its back, its fur intermingled with the rest of the enamel-red contusions. Saliva leaked out of its mouth while red eyes glared at him in particular. Sniffs were heard causing him to look down at the spilled sap and look back up with realization. "The sap...it likes sap too?!" "It's not alone!" Another of his goons cried out, as a pack of Ursa seem to rush out of the woods, all snarling with deafening roars. The sudden numbers made the Hunters-in-training turn tail and run. In turn, the Grimm rushed after him, leaving the Alpha Bear to stand monstrously above Cardin. Reaching for his mace, he unfolded it only to have it casually bat it aside. One clawed stroke forward crashed him onto his back. Falling back to all fours, it rampaged forward, mouth open wide to gore open the sweet smelling sap covered chest. Raising up his arms in terror at the intimidating beast, he almost let out a girlish shriek- -until a shield wearing arm smashed into the eye of the beast, gouging it out in a spray of blood that smattered over his face and breastplate. As it roared with agony a follow-up sword strike gashed it across the jaw, forcing it to leap deftly back, skidding enough to glare with one working eye. Jaune, bleeding from Cardin's earlier punch with a swelling bruise under his eye, raised up the sword and shield with a bashing crash, luring it away from the ground prone man. "Come on!" He shouted brazenly, blue eyes glowing as rose his Aura instinctively. "Come and take me on instead, you big ugly!" With a roar it rushed forward in a flurry of fur and bone, with Jaune shouting out a battle cry as he flew in an adrenaline crash of movement and strikes. His battle of life and death has begun, over the one person he hated the most. Despite questioning his morals he continued to fight...inwardly hoping he could survive long enough to say sorry to his team. ---- "RUN! RUN AWAY!" One of the mooks cried out as they ran over the hill. Followed by his comrades all the teams nearby, including Pyrrha gaped as what looked like over a dozen Ursa racing down the hillside. The salivating monsters gargled with rabid intensity as they aimed overtake the monsters with their muscular builds. It didn't take long for one of the bully's cohorts to be caught tripping over a stick on the path. Turning to raise his hand up with a cry, a leaping Ursa with a wide open mouth would find its mouth shot by a quickly timed Ruby. "That's Team Cardinal," Blake declared with an upraised brow, leaping up to avoid a furious Ursa that swiped at the tree nearby, cleaving it apart easily. As she danced around its blows she unslinged her handgun sword to swing it around in an arc, firing a few roudns into its backside. Leaping up she landed a solid gouging motion into the eye, crashing her foot into the stock to fire a round through its skull before it fell down dead with a bloody splat. "Let's keep them from dying, if possible." "Right-Right," Yang responded as she tackled into an Ursa, bringing it down to the ground. With a smile she shotgun punched the beast repeatedly in the face, tearing its head apart in seconds. Lifting its corpse up she swung it at a nearby Ursa towards one of the CRDL fleeing from it. It was stunned long enough for Pyrrha to pin it with a spear, followed up with Nora smashing its skull with a gleeful smile by way of hammer. One particular beast ran towards Ren, whom calmly sidestepped away, elbowing its head hard enough for it to be obliterated in a spray of gore. With it dead instantly he withdrew his knife-pistols, unloading a barrage of rounds at more beasts crawling out from the woods, while Weiss froze the ground to destabilize them. "Nice one, Schnee!" Anthony cheered, whipping his own personal weapon off of his back. There was a flick of a switch, causing the weapon to release into its gun-form mid-flip - a heavy-caliber assault rifle. He deftly caught it by the grip, raising and leveling the barrel up with the oncoming horde. He let only one eye look down his sights, a toothy grin on his face. "Now it's my turn." He pulled the trigger, unleashing a stream of fire upon the horde. The Ursas' numbers were significantly reduced in a matter of seconds, falling at the mercy of Anthony's firepower and uncanny accuracy. He chuckled darkly, the sound muffled by the roar of his rifle as it wreaked havoc. In his peripheral, he saw Kiarra crouch low beside him and take aim with Kimber. "Mind if I step in?" She asked, just as he expelled a freshly empty clip for a full one. "Sure, go ahead." Anthony grunted. "There's enough for everyone." Kiarra grinned, looking down the scope and tightening her grip on the trigger. "Thanks, stud." Professor Tell's advice worked well here. Each shot taken was aimed to destroy multitudes of Ursa at once - something that wasn't too hard considering the way they were rushing in. Every shot was immediately followed by her cocking the bolt, her movements swift and confident. Like Anthony, she was sporting a smile as she cut down their numbers. If there was any doubts about her claim as being MKBD's sniper, they were being cleared away at that very moment. Other combatants decided to take a more personal approach. Using the gunfire as his cover, Elisha rushed forward. His blade flashed as he neared his first target, effortlessly slicing off the bear's head. His movements drew the attention of other Ursa, and they decided him to be a primary target. But even as their numbers closed in on him, he didn't falter. His movements were precise, every stroke of his blade a killing blow against his foes. The grin that displayed that full razor-sharp set of teeth had returned in full force, even as he made quick work of his targets. "Just another meal for the blade..." He taunted, slinging his sword before casually approaching more Ursa. "Boosh!" A smack of Delilah's oversized oar weapon, and an Ursa was sent flying away from her. Its form smashed into a tree, where it lay deathly still. Its assailant was constantly on the move, twirling and twisting her weapon to bat away even more Ursa that were swarming her. Her strength and the size of her weapon was enough to cause many of the creatures to meet a similar fate to the first. Unlike the ones before her, she bore a lighter smirk on her face - one that briefly widened when she sent an Ursa flying into the air. However, she was taken back when she saw that particular Ursa cut to pieces by a hail of gunfire coming from the treetops. She looked up to see Rohan crouched on a branch, the smoking trail of his rifle marking him as the culprit. A grin crossed her face, and she paused to give him a thumbs up. "Nice shooting, Ro!" She cheered. "Keep it up!" Rohan gave a silent nod, before pointing the rifle and raining down fire from his perch. His efforts were only outdone by the likes of Bonnie. "You all are doing it wrong!" She declared, narrowing her eyes and cocking her grenade launcher before aiming it at a group of Ursa stalking towards her position. "In a situation like this, you have to make sure the problem is completely erased. And the only way to do that," She tightened her grip on the trigger. "Is by blowing it to pieces!!" She fired. The single grenade was enough to wipe out the massive number of Ursa before they got too close to her, reducing them to a series of body parts. Bonnie grinned, cocking the shotgun-like launcher and repeating the process on another group of Grimm. "They always thought I was insane because I used this as my signature weapon!" She crowed, clearly enjoying herself as she laid waste to the bears. "But who's laughing now?! That's right! It's me!" Mose was more quiet in his approach, but nevertheless just as efficient. With a hardened look, he used Bonnie's explosive attacks as cover to move in on Ursa that had only been stunned. He pointed the middle and index fingers on each hand at them, triggering the gun part of his gauntlets. They sprayed his targets in a sub-machine gun's fashion, finishing them off. Those that managed to recover quickly enough to attack him were sliced by the hidden blades within his gauntlets, which were activated with a snap of the fingers. He sliced, gunned and kicked his way through the enemy's numbers, validating Kiarra's earlier claim about him with each kill made. Last but not least, there was Seth. Even as he was facing down his own group, all he did was stride confidently to them. He drew his pistols from their holsters, twirling them in a flourish before firing. His shots were very accurate, with bullets landing in the heads of the oncoming Grimm more than anything else. Notably, he was fighting with more pragmatism than any of the others; occasionally, he'd shoot down tree branches so that heavier ones could fall on approaching groups and even shoot the bark of trees so that the Ursa would get distracted by the sap. Throughout it all, he bore a smug grin and even had the nerve to taunt them as he gunned them down. "You animals really need to know your place!" Resolution The fact they made short work of the Ursa was something that made their teacher feel relief. While she wouldn't show it, she had felt a swell of pride seeing how the teams worked together in beating the unexpected rampage of Grimm. Trailing up with a number of students she had been watching from a distance she began to repair damage to their surroundings nad check on those in her charge. "Is everyone alright?" "Team RWBY all accounted for and okay!" Ruby gave a thumbs up, smiling gleefully as she holstered her weapon on her waist. "They came from over that hill," Blake noted, doing her best to hold in her scowl at Seth. Despite knowing he was only speaking to the Grimm as they had no relation to a racial slur, she couldn't help but feel prejudice oozing from him. Rolling her eyes she noticed one of the whimpering CRDL teammates curled up near a deteriorating Ursa corpse. Walking up to him, she asked with arms crossed. "Care to explain where your fearless leader is?" "H-He's still up there," Another cried out, limping forward until he was pulled into a collar-grip by Yang, issuing him a squeak of fright. "W-With that blonde tool..." "Jaune's up there?!" Pyrrha cried out with alarm, already gaping at hearing a faint sound of sword and howls in the distance. Taking off in a sprint, she'd be followed by the rest of her team. Then Team RWBY and the others, with Yang headbutting the man into unconsciousness. When they'd arrive over the hill they'd be greeted by an unexpected sight. Cardin, cowering on all fours, was gawking at the sight of Jaune taking on an even larger Ursa; the alpha of the pack that assaulted them. "Is that...really Jaune?" Nora queried aloud what Ruby was about to say. Jaune howled aloud as he banged the shield, aggravating the half-blind bear to charge him. When the Grimm conveniently leaped up with a paw-leaping bite, he dropped to the ground and turned with a somersaulting spin his sword a gleam of white mingled with red. Blood escaped the belly of the beast as it stumbled around, growling as similar wounds seemed to cover its entire body. Saliva mingled with blood escaped its maw as it dapped the ground, with the blonde suffering a few bruises and cuts of his own as he breathed in heavy inhales and exhales. "Should we-" "No," Ruby adamantly waved an arm, one that even caught the red-haired Pyrrha by surprise. Her serious stare aimed forward told them what she was entailing long before she spoke. "This is Jaune's battle. Let him fight till he can't any longer." Glynda had half a mind to chastise the diminutive student and then stop the beast herself. But a look in Jaune's eyes she hadn't noticed throughout the last month of him attending Beacon. It was pure determination and a fire that he didn't even sport in the sparring arena against Cardin. This was the young man that Ozpin witnessed during the Emerald Forest; one that she had blatantly ignored. "Class," She spoke in a hush tone as she waved her wand around pointedly to them as her eyes kept watch of the battle carefully. "Stay back. I will be the only one intervening if this gets out of hand. I don't want anyone to get recklessly hurt, understand?" Silence cemented their understanding as Jaune was paw swiped across the shield to slam onto his back. Instinctively Turning back and forth to avoid repeated paw thrusts, he eventually smashed his shield up its exposed mouth. A loud yell followed as he placed the sword at its neck. A vicious slash across its throat followed a geyser of blood that splattered over his face, soon following with the entire beast's head. Sending it flying with a meaty roll that had bounced over Cardin that made him choke at the smell before it rolled before the class's feet. "Daaaaaaaaaang," Yang exhaled as she looked down at the twitching head and then at Jaune who scooched himself out form underneath the body. "That totally happened...without him getting any help, right?" "Right," Pyrrha commented, her hand discreetly lowering to hide any involvement she may have had. The angle of his blade wasn't enough to properly align it. Thanks to her Semblance, his hard work paid off and he didn't suffer for his lack of experience. Smiling she watched him trod over to Cardin, sheathing his sword and compacting his shield, before he extended an unexpected hand to pick the bully up. "Wow...thanks, man," The bulkier student said awkwardly, half-smiling with a nervous expression. He clearly had underestimated the sheer grit and innovation the boy had. "Don't ever ''threaten my friends, Cardin," Jaune growled as his blue eyes glared straight at the bigger man's with force that made him take a step back. "I won't care about being expelled, but you should care what I'd do to you if you lay a finger on anyone I cherish. Got it?" Nodding dumbly, Carding looked strangely at Jaune as he walked haggardly away, feeling the adrenaline start to lose its luster. Just approaching the entire assembly of students in his class made him suddenly Sheepish. Even as the blood seemed to dissipate into ash just like the body behind him did, he nervously scratched his chin, "Uh...how long were you guys standing there?" "Long enough." Elisha was the first to speak. He had a rather pleased smile on his face, his arms outstretched briefly in a welcoming motion. "Glad to see we didn't have to exhaust too much energy on one more Ursa. That was a nice execution, by the way..." Anthony sniffed. "I could've chopped off its head in less time than that," He grumbled, before putting on a slightly humored smirk. "But whatever. I'm glad we didn't have to save you, after all." Rohan remained silent, waving the "Go Jaune!" flag around once more. Off to the sidelines, MKBD were having a chat among themselves. "So that's JNPR's Jaune Arc." Kiarra commented, sparing only a glance at him. "I have to admit, he doesn't look very impressive from first glance. But I gotta admit that I like the way he took down that Alpha. Those things aren't exactly as easy as the common ones." "He has rather unreliable equipment, if you ask me." Bonnie muttered, her expression disapproving and yet curious at the same time. "But still, he did kill a Grimm - an Alpha Grimm - with that, nonetheless. If he had his hands on a better weapon, the fight would've ended much quicker than it did." "He's got guts." Delilah added. "I think I might grow to like the guy." "Only if he doesn't get himself involved with any more "dirty dealings"." Kiarra commented, earning a bemused look from Delilah and Bonnie. ""Dirty dealings"?" Delilah repeated. "What are you on about, sister?" Kiarra shrugged. "Something Ruby and Seth mentioned to me. They didn't specify, though maybe they will later on. Considering the chances that we'll be hanging out much more, it's gotta come up sometime." "I would not dare hold my breath." Bonnie whispered, frowning. "Maybe they're the type who'd take their secret to the gra--" She stopped herself when she caught movement out of her peripheral. She raised her head up from the circle her team formed, spotting Seth sauntering up to the spot where the Ursa had fallen. His hands were folded behind his back, giving off the impression of a rather confident military official. He stopped himself when he was directly in front of Jaune, still inspecting the spot. Then, after nodding to himself, he turned to meet Jaune's gaze. There was a small silence before he spoke. "Not only did you kill an Alpha Ursa," He remarked, raising an eyebrow. "But you also managed to put a blemish on tough guy Cardin. I was really putting money on you being dead by now, but," He smirked, shrugging lightly. "I guess things aren't always what they seem. Congrats, runt. You finally grew your teeth." "''I guess that's his way of saying, good job," Blake thought as she smiled slightly at the remark given to him. "Here I thought he'd just be dead weight," Weiss reminisced, remembering often how the hopeless blonde kept trying to vie for her and Pyrrha's attention. Now he was actually showing promise in a way she didn't anticipate. With the remains deteriorating Glynda was happy enough to escort everyone back to collecting more sap before being escorted back to campus. When Jaune thought about rejoining his team, he stopped short and smiled right at Seth. While those were words felt unexpectedly complimentary he couldn't forget that challenge. Raising a finger he laughed derisively, "Hey, almost forgot something... CRACK! "...THIS IS FOR YOU!" Jaune cried out as he viciously swung in a burst of power his right hand towards his left cheek. While he was considerably winded, the moment had his Aura spike up so that his punch would pack more power than if it was weakly thrown before. Thankfully everyone's backs were turned, otherwise he knew that Glynda would get him into detention for doing this on a school field trip. Of course, Seth saw this coming. But he underestimated just how much strength Jaune would put behind the strike. He only managed to gain a glimpse of his leader's shocked expression before the fist crashed into his jaw. The good thing was that he stayed true to his word - he had put his own Aura up in order to cushion the force of the attack. But as quick as he was to act, he was nowhere near a more competent user of Aura. So when the Aura-enhanced blow of Jaune collided with his face, he was sent off of his feet and into the ground back first. The sharp pain that shot through his jaw caused him to let out a sharp yelp - something that probably got the attention of the other teams. He took only a few seconds to lay on his back before sitting himself up. His head was hung down, and he was holding the affected spot. The world had lapsed into silence once more. "Hah...Hah...Hah," Jaune heaved, feeling the pain of his knuckles throb but having a satisfied smile at seeing him knock another jerk down. "How was that? I didn't hold back just for you...hah...hah..." "GO JAUNE!" Nora cried out from the background while Pyrrha just looked at him as if he was insane. Ren just rolled his eyes while massaging his temples. They didn't understand why but in a way they couldn't blame him for wanting to hit Seth. His past history of being a vulgar full-of-himself ass wasn't lost to them. They just were surprised he'd do something so blatantly now of all times. "Uh, why did Jaune hit Seth?" Yang pointedly ask aloud as she turned to look at the pair with a smile and a shrug. "I mean, I'm not complaining, but..." "I think it's just more macho crap," Weiss murmured as she looked at the pair, noticing how they both must have been smiling. "Seriously, is the only way guys can form friendships is by being violent to each other? No wonder some women think men harbor sexual tensions to each other. They just can't understand their testosterone meat heads; something I doubt I'll understand either." "Well, at least he's settled things with two people he had issues with," Blake spoke aloud with a smile, proud that Jaune managed to stand up for himself and become more assertive. "Good for him." "I still don't get what's going on!?" Ruby spazzed with her hands pulling on her hair. "Why Jaune?! Why punch Seth?!" "Cause we made a bet," Jaune declared as he looked back at Seth. "And I fulfilled my end of the bargain, and he let me hit him as promised. That was our arrangement." "Macho Crap Confirmed!" Weiss declared while everyone else looked on with realization. "You really are something, Jaune Arc," Pyrrha sighed with a laugh echoing her thoughts. By this point in time, Seth had managed to stand up. He was chuckling softly, taking his hand off of his face in order to brush himself off. When he raised his head up, he revealed his face to sport a bruise awfully similar to the one Jaune sported. He took in a deep breath, raising his arms in an almost incredulous shrug. But it was clear that he was satisfied, as well. "All right," He breathed. "I'll admit it. That one hurt. Probably would've lost a few teeth if I hadn't put my Aura up in time." He lowered his voice to mutter under his breath. "You're a blessing in disguise, Pyrrha..." Shaking his head, he turned to face the audience and pointed a brief finger. "Just so we're clear," He said, frowning. "This was a special occasion. No one else is so much as touching me." He lowered his hand, sauntering away from Jaune and making his way down to where Glynda had headed off to. Idly, he noted the MKBD members shrugging off what had just happened. "Except if we're getting hitched or something. That's the only exception I'm putting on the table." Elisha smirked, turning to follow Seth. "I'm sure Rohan can help you with that." "I swear to God, Elisha, I will fucking end you right here and now!!" "What are you talking about?" Rohan asked, a clearly confused look on his face as he followed in their footsteps. "Elisha?" Anthony had his head lowered and his arms folded across his chest, snickering to himself as he walked by. But when he passed by Weiss, he reached out to teasingly ruffle the Schnee's hair. "You'll understand the complexity of the male species when you're older, sweetheart." He drawled. "Now let's get going before Badwitch decides to tear us all a new one." Previous Chapter | 'Next Chapter